RAIN
I wonder why the satellite TV isn't working?
I must admit I'm a
"fair-weather" RVer who tends to travel in the seasons when the chance of rain
is slim. As such, I hadn't given much thought to the effects that rain and other
weather conditions can have on satellite TV.
Last month I
received an email from a customer who had experienced some loss of satellite signal during
a rain storm. Upon checking, he determined that water had seeped into the
connections where he spliced together his RG-6 cables. He was asking if I had a
solution to the problem and I "thought" I did!
The supplier of my
satellite finders also carries a foam cover designed to provide a weather tight seal at
the coax connections. I ordered two dozen as a trial run and they arrived a few days
ago.
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They looked GREAT in the supplier's photos, but when they arrived I found they were just
too small to cover the connections. So, I'm back to
work to find a similar product in the correct size. (Needless to say my supplier
will get these back.)
It stands to reason that rainwater can cause a disruption in the
satellite signal. While rainwater in its natural state is pretty innocuous - with an
almost neutral pH and very little conductivity, it seldom arrives on the ground in its
natural state. |
Because of
pollution in the air it passes through, the rainwater picks up many contaminants which alter the pH and increase
the conductivity. It only takes one drop to bridge the gap between the center wire
of the RG-6 cable and the shielding layer to ground out the connection. This can
cause complete loss of signal.
So, if you
experience loss of signal during a rainy spell, check your connections to insure they are
dry. If any of the connections are laying on the ground, it might be a good idea to
elevate them with a block of wood or a rock to keep them off the damp ground and away from
water puddles.
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This has been a VERY busy month for our Heavy-Duty
Tripods. Our supplier has been unable to provide us with the quantities needed to
fill our orders. As a result we ran out of tripods for about a week in August and
expect to be out of stock again at the beginning of September.
Our supplier promised us a delivery in mid-September
and we hope to resume shipping around September 20th. We regret any inconvenience
this may cause our customers. Keep checking our website for status updates.
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